VGBounceHouse

Howdy!

It's been a while but I'm back on scanning duty. Editing duty actually, hoping to finish this monster up before the ebd of the month:

I've got my template and the first 40 pages done yesterday, we'll see how I power through. There are a LOT of those little colored circle printing errors so each page is taking a bit more touching up than even the really old mags I've done.

Where have I been? Why launching my preservation site that I've mentioned a few times:

http://vgpavilion.com

I launched February 1st with nine magazines, eight from 1982 (representing all of the magazines available on the newsstands at Christmastime that year [i hope]) and one from 1983. Two of the magazines came from other sources (Video Games Player Fall 1982 and Computer Gaming World November/December 1982) but the other have 300dpi PDF and CBR files in addition to the RetroMags versions I've uploaded here previously.

Each magazine is also recreated in modern responsive web format, each article linked to related games, and all artwork, photos, screenshots and advertising pulled and indexed. I hope you get the chance to check it out and let me know what you think of this supplemental archiving process.

Since launch I have also added a single article from Time magazine, January 18, 1982. I didn't preserve the whole magazine as it isn't primarily videogame related but I believe these mainstream magazine articles about our hobby are important as well.

It's also a great example of how mainstream media always gets videogame coverage wrong lol

I hope to get back into interacting with all the great people here again and appreciate all the hard work this community puts in to preserving videogame media.

Chris

Okay, this may both questionable and tough.

Questionable as in, is it a 'zine, or a real magazine worth archiving. Tough, as in details are difficult to come by.

After watching this video:

I did the normal eBay search and after a lot of scrolling (due to the word "foul" being all over the place lol) I found an issue which arrived today:

Foul, Issue 7

It has ads. I have confirmation that it was on newsstands. But many 'zines meet those criteria. So I'm putting what I've learned out there.

The magazine started in either late 2001 or early 2002. Per this forum post:

http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?1311-Foul-Magazine&s=0263e59c3eba2ed204065bea0e66f12d

It appears Issue 10 was out in November 2002. The issue I have has no month let alone year. Even the copyright section is absent of any indication.

My issue, Issue 7, has State of Emergency on the cover. It was released in February 2002. Since this is more "underground" they are likely writing after the fact. If they maintained a monthly schedule that would make this August. However an ad for a party on May 1st suggests this was a March or April issue with a "Release Dates" section listing March titles as the oldest date. At bi-monthly this would be the May issue so that suggests they had no set schedule making digging the release dates difficult.

So what do you guys think?

I'll get to Issue 1 sooner than later I promise!

I totally agree marktrade. On my site they will be grouped in an "Inserts" category at the issue, magazine and global level. For my own archival mission I'm going that way with the CBR and PDF releases designed for recreating the reading experience, the pages to provide a "modern" reading experience, and the individual elements as the raw primary/secondary sources for citations.

But Retromags has its own mission. I'm happy to include them in the release. For this issue four additional images would be needed, two after page 10 and two after page 74. I created test images using Sean697's page blur idea and CBRs with the cropped and blurred options and run all three through two CBR readers. The effect on page numbering is enough to disaude me, but visually the blur option is visually interesting. They could be put at the end but that doesn't respect the physical reality of how the issue appeared while reading off the newsstand.

Right now it looks like it's half for inclusion, half for not including/don't care either way. I will put up a second version with the blurred pages in it for anyone interested and if we work out a standard here in the next couple of days I'll make any changes and follow it on future releases.

Yeah, Old West is right marktrade lol this issue came from eBay and was in similar yellowing condition as the 1982 magazines I kept laying around from my teenage years. Compare that to my recent Videogaming Illustrated December 1982 which also came from eBay but was sealed, boarded and obviously kept in a different environment. I've been noting my releases in the database when there s significant yellowing so others that have better preserved copies think about replacing my version rather than calling it case closed. Can't wait to get to '90s and beyond magazines, I'm sick of the yellow lol

Thanks for all the feedback. I have not included the subscription cards in the archives, here's an example of one in case that affects anyone's opinion.

Unless anyone thinks these should now go in the release is up:

http://www.retromags.com/magazines/category/usa/videogaming-illustrated/videogaming-illustrated-issue-12#.Vkk8CnarSCo

As always the 300dpi CBR and text-searchable PDF are also available from this stub page:

http://vgpavilion.com/mags/1983/12/vci/

I will hunt down those EGM issues to scan pages needed to complete some other archives and then I'm getting to work on my own site. I will be taking breaks to finish up the other issues mentioned earlier in this thread but probably won't have another release for a week.

Quick question: what's the standard here for subscription cards? This issue has two on a single strip stapled into the issue (as in a front/back after page 10 and another after page 74, printed as one 1/4 height light cardboard strip). I normally wouldn't include them myself but I see them in some archives so I have extracted and prepared them.

Thanks! I'll take care of those pages tomorrow night or Monday morning, unfortunately while all of my EGM's are in their own boxes, they aren't sorted yet so I have to do some digging lol I'll also check that incomplete thread for any other EGMs I can grab at the same time.

The two needing release announcements are December 1982 Electronic Fun and Joystik. I should have a release for Videogaming & Computergaming Illustrated December 1983 tomorrow night or Monday depending on how much I get done tomorrow, almost at the halfway point of editing but have plans tonight.

Someone already changed the Videogaming Illustrated issue to my download so my only update today was editing Electronic Fun to reflect my download and Preserved status. I used the notes field to indicate the yellowing meant a better source could be found in the future.

I'm gonna try to get one more issue done for RetroMags before getting back to work on my own site Monday. I'm trying to figure out a schedule to work on both now that I have a backlog of issues to extract from. I will finish up the issues mentioned so far in this thread and there was a also a request for some missing pages from an issue of EGM but I can't remember the thread lol

It's release time so usual rules apply:

Joystik, Issue 3, December 1982

Database Page: http://www.retromags.com/magazines/category/usa/joystik/joystik-issue-3#.VkVMFLerSCp

I've marked it preserved and provided a link to my RetroMags-formatted CBR. If someone could handle copying the upload to the RetroMags servers and making a release topic I'd appreciate it!

As usual a 300dpi CBR and text-searchable PDF are available: http://vgpavilion.com/mags/1982/12/joystik/ (only the downloads are valid links at the moment)

This issue was kind of a pain as I had to do facing pages for nearly the entire issue but I think it came out looking pretty good. Not a great addition as it's just tips 'n tricks rather than full coverage of videogaming at the time, but a glimpse into what they thought were the hot home cartridges of the time.

I plan to upload the Electronic Fun with Computers & Games and Videogaming Illustrated issues I finished and mentioned above as there's been no discouragement.

I posted this in my In Progress thread but wanted to leave it here as well in case there are more developments:

The link to Digital Press implies issues between Volume 1, Number 1, dated Fall 1982, which has been archived elsewhere, and Volume 2, Number 1, dated August/September 1983 which I both own and remember from the newsstand. However the link to 2600 Connection doesn't allow space for those issues though they may only be listing ones they've archived. Neither the Library of Congress nor interview links imply these other issues exist. I had hoped to cross December 1982 off my list but these speculative issue holders at Digital Press leave me wanting lol

I added another missing magazine topic, Manci Games, to the Database Discussions forum if anyone's into that stuff.

I'm also working on the final December 1982 magazine I have on hand, Joystik:

There are some curious bits I wanted to raise here rather than creating another topic somewhere else. I bought the first four issues of Joystik off eBay from a seller who had multiple copies of the lot. Given the age I'm curious if this is a later print run since they were in mint condition in addition to the multiple copies. I guess the seller could have found a box of old issues stored in a pristine place for 33 years but I am curious. Just as strange is the way the magazine is presented: "By the Editors of JoyStik Magazine". As far as I can tell this *IS* Joystik magazine, not a supplement/alternate issue. And while later issues were simply "Joystik" in big print rather than "How to Win at Home Video Games" it begs the question "are these the same things?" I remember this issue on the newsstand, and noty a regular magazine, yet this is only strategy guide after strategy guide, no news or features. Was there really no "Joystik" magazine "proper" at this point? Why would they present the magazine this way if that were the case?

This goes along with another question of our accuracy based on info RetroDefense brings up regarding Video Games Player here:

http://community.retromags.com/topic/9811-missing-magazine-video-games-player-computer-games/#.VkKrnberSCo

The link to Digital Press implies issues between Volume 1, Number 1, dated Fall 1982, which has been archived elsewhere, and Volume 2, Number 1, dated August/September 1983 which I both own and remember from the newsstand. However the link to 2600 Connection doesn't allow space for those issues though they may only be listing ones they've archived. Neither the Library of Congress nor interview links imply these other issues exist. I had hoped to cross December 1982 off my list but these speculative issue holders at Digital Press leave me wanting lol

Here's an easy one: only two issues!

Manci Games was a full-color retrogaming magazine published in the middle of 2004. I got the two issues from eBay and confirmation of the limited run here:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/51527-manci-games-is-folding/

Here are the covers:

Manci Games, Issue 1, May 2004

Manci Games, Issue 2, June 2004

There are some interesting ads for homebrew games (including one for the Jaguar!) along with articles, interviews and collecting tips.

Thanks Areala, I'll wait until Thursday and if there's no other feedback I'll upload both issues.

On a related note I managed to grab one of the missing issues of Videogaming (nee & Computergaming) Illustrated:

Videogaming & Computergaming Illustrated, Issue 12, December 1983

I had to buy two issues I already had to get it but now I'm only two issues away from completing this mag. I'm bumping it up on my scan queue because of the Imagic article. Because they were my favorite third-party publisher during the first console war and there is some interesting "console crash" information in the article I want to get it up on my site sooner rather than later.

Ok, I finished my version of Videogaming Illustrated, Issue 3, December 1982. I think it is a significant improvement over the current version but please take a look and let me know if I should contribute it. The RetroMags-formatted version of the CBR is here:

http://vgpavilion.com/mags/1982/12/vi/Videogaming-Illustrated-Issue-003-Dec-1982.cbr

As always my 300dpi archive and text-searchable PDF versions are on the issue's main page at my site:

http://vgpavilion.com/mags/1982/12/vi/

None of the other links on that page are active. I have another magazine to do for RetroMags before getting back to my site's content.

As there have been no comments regarding my Electronic Fun scan mentioned above I take we'll wait for whoever marked the issue as being in Editing rather than me uploading my version?

There's at least one issue of Flux I know of that is mis-labeled on the cover as to what number the issue is (issue #4 with Lady Death, Shi, and Vampirella on the cover says #1 up in the corner, but that's wrong). Flux also issued multiple covers of the magazine, so subscribers got a magazine with one cover, and newsstand buyers got a different cover, because this wasn't complicated enough to begin with...

http://community.retromags.com/gallery/category/119-flux/

You can see in the gallery we have both variants for issues 4 and 5.

Bottom line: check the indicia on the table of contents against whatever's printed on the cover, and if you've got an alt. #1 cover, then SWEET!!

Hope that helps.

*huggles*

Areala

I should have checked the gallery before I bought the issue because sure enough, there it is. So the copy I got sold as #1 is actually Issue 4 and I see two people have uploaded the cover:

Like one of the uploads implies through naming this was the "Direct Market Edition" presumably sold to comic book shops rather than regular newsstands. This copy is also the same dimensions as a comic book rather than a magazine like the one I already had on hand. Oh well!

Ok everyone, I've got a story to tell for Electronic Fun with Computers & Game, December 1982. Feel free to skip to the TL;DR

Many of the magazines I had on hand already from the first console war were bought at the newsstand and then left laying around the house. I had no thoughts of preservation as a teenager so no care was taken. Most of these issues are in good shape, very little damage to the covers, and complete. However I have come to notice a different amount of page yellowing across this part of my collection. I recently re-did my Electronic Games, December 1982, as a copy I bought off eBay to replace the damaged back cover of my copy had significantly less yellowing (mostly only the tops of pages). The issue of Video Games from the same year and month had next to no yellowing. Yet Electronic Fun is heavily affected around all edges. This magazine used a different paper stock which also caused bleed-through on some pages which I could clean up for the most part, but really couldn't do anything about the yellowing without impacting images on the edges of the pages.

Since my preservation project is focused on the content above a pristine copy of the original pages and layout this works for me despite my wishing I had a better copy. Someone had already marked this issue as "Editing" in the database but significant time has passed so I don't know how their work will compare. I understand RetroMags supports uploading newer projects and mine could easily be replaced when and if a better scan becomes available but I thought it was worth taking a look at what I had done before submitting it as I'd hate for people to grab the issue and have a lesser opinion of this site. My copy in CBR format per RetroMags guidelines is here:

http://vgpavilion.com/mags/1982/12/ef/Electronic-Fun-Issue-002-Dec-1982.cbr

As always I am building a page on my own site which has both a 300dpi CBR and a text-searchable PDF. The page is here (though it's just a placeholder, only the download links are relevant at the moment):

http://vgpavilion.com/mags/1982/12/ef/

The ultimate goal of having physical and digital copies of all videogame-related magazines is one I wholeheartedly support. However I have my own mission of "modernizing" the content to make it more accessible for both videogame fans, academics and researchers, making the contents of the magazines a top priority. Working toward a full launch of my site meant making certain choices to design the layout and how to deal with related information so that people could approach magazine content from a variety of angles, not just the raw pages. I chose December 1982 as a solid pick for the first console war since there is less information on this time period on the web, and videogame history books I have read seem light on this period leading to thin and often incorrect coverage.

Because of my needs I may approach these preservation projects slightly differently. I straighten pages using baseline text rather than page edges. I repair gaps between facing pages in an attempt to recreate the designer's intended layout. In this issue I am particularly proud of this one:

I also try to clean up printing errors (such as those line discolored circles plates sometimes left behind before the advent of desktop publishing) and normalizing page widths. These choices fit my own needs but I'm sure not everyone is looking for the same end result so I don't want my editing choices to reflect poorly on RetroMags when preparing a final archive that meets this site's guidelines.

I will be moving on to Videogaming Illustrated, December 1982, which has already been preserved here, but which I need to fit my own site's launch needs. As with this issue I will offer my version up to the community for feedback in comparison to the current one here. Ultimately I hope to get back to "new" issues for this site after I get some more work done on my own site and will be sure to do issues not available here. I will stick with issues from the era of the first console war, but will try to pick the closest-to-mint issues on hand rather than just the next one in the pile.

TL;DR

My copy has far more page yellowing than I expected. I'm not sure if it's worth sharing here given that someone already marked the issue as being in "Editing". Check it out if you have the chance and let me know.

Couldn't resist a little bit of the old Mac vs PC debate, huh? Although I admit to never using Quark back then, the Mac OS 9 version was popular enough that it held back adoption of Mac OS X. Evidently it was fast enough and I'm sure my Mac can handle emulating the older versions.

I just got QuarkXPress 3.32 up and running and it's working fine. I should be able to open anything from the early-to-mid 90s. Ready to test.

Only speaking from experience developing Quark XPress extensions . The lack of virtual memory was the big issue under Mac OS. This may sound like a joke but sadly it was very real: at an office going over what was needed I noticed a row of people with Macs and XPress loaded, but they seemed to just be talking to each other. I found out they waited ten minutes and sometimes more just for their documents to load. I hooked up the laptop I had with me and logged into their network and the exact same document took seconds under Windows. I used XPress myself for one of my underground magazines and even though the documents weren't nearly as complex the few times I had to do last minute edits away from home on a Mac it was a painful wait just to get the document up.

I did talk to one of the devs when debugging a plugin once and that's how I found out about the new code for opening files. It was just a tangent but I had run into an issue where some PageMaker files wouldn't import into the Mac version but loaded up fine under Windows and I was joking about multiple sneakernet trips, copying to Mac floppy, reading onto Windows with one of those special external floppy drives you could get back then, importing, saving and copying it back.

The Windows versions of Xpress, in addition to being much faster than the Mac OS versions, were also more compatible. Supposedly the need to read Mac OS forks plus compatibility with odd page layout programs of little interest to Mac users meant writing an entirely different import engine. The late '90s versions of Xpress I used read any file I threw at it, so that might be an alternative.

Having access to digital files would be awesome. The only problem is many times advertising wasn't integrated back then leaving pages and parts of pages blank. I'm in it for the ads as much as the writing lol

Well that sucked lol

After re-editing every page (and wasting far too much time trying to clean up some top-of-page yellowing) my relase is finally ready:

Electonic Games, Issue 10, December 1982

http://www.retromags.com/magazines/category/usa/electronic-games-1981/electronic-games-issue-10#.VjuHHLerSCo

I have placed the upload as before and even remembered the RetroMags image this time, so I'll leave the rest in E-Day's very capable hands to add whatever download to use and changing the status to preserved.

As always the 300dpi & PDF versions are also available:

http://vgpavilion.com/mags/1982/12/eg/

I even edited the PDF to maintain the proper page numbers in spite of the insert.

Because of my need to set a template page size and stick to it (except fold-outs) there are a bunch of additional images representing facing-page layouts this issue. While not linked on the site at the moment I hope to have them on the Pages link by the end of the day. Right now the page at my site is mostly just holding the space, I'm going to finish another preservation for RetroMags before moving on to article extraction and the other stuff I'm working on.

I plan to do Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, December 1982, which someone else has marked as Editing for some time, as it fits in with my December 1982 theme. If that archive will soon be available from someone else I will work on a different issue and come back to that one for myself at a later time.

In every issue I have "Strategy Plus, Inc." is listed as the publisher. If you look at the first cover scan above I'm guessing that was their brand, the "Computer Games" part just took over lol

Another issue arrived today:

Number 117, August 2000

I'm hoping to find the issues where the name/design changed for some more insight before trying to contact some of the listed editors/publishers over social media in hopes of getting the details.

I have one more issue incoming, but the picking have always been slim.

Howdy!

Ultimate Gamer has a database entry but I couldn't find a related topic so forgive any duplication of information.

This was a short-lived "monthly" starting in the middle of 1995 and ending it's run in January 1996. There were only six issues with the cancellation announced in the final issue with directions on switching subscriptions to another magazine or requesting a refund.

• Ultimate Gamer comes from Larry Flynt Publications which was responsive for a number of '90s game mags including Video Games & Computer Entertainment.
• I typed "monthly" in quotes as the small print says it's a monthly yet the gap between issues one and three is two months meaning they missed one. As I don't have the second issue I don't know wwhether it was dated August or September.
• The last two issues were perfect-bound and narrower, the rest staple-bound.
• Some basic information on the magazine can be found here http://gamingafter40.blogspot.com/2011/01/larry-flynt-calls-it-quits-in-96.html as there is no Wikipedia entry (an all-too-common fact in regard to videogame magazines on the site).

I have five of the six issues:

Number 1, July 1995

Number 3, October 1995

Number 4, November 1995

Number 5, December 1995

Number 6, January 1996

I'll be on the lookout for the missing issue and if I find it will make putting this magazine to bed in its entirety a priority.

Chris

Howdy!

Here's a fun one lol

NewType Gaming is obviously related to NewType magazine but I really couldn't find any info on it. The issues I was able to get from eBay weren't helpful in terms of documenting the run but here's what I've been able to piece together:

• Published bi-monthly as indicated in the copyright notice
• Volumes represent the years, number the issue. No way of knowing if they strictly adhered to corresponding months as there is no month indicator.
• Beginning with Volume 1, Number 4 the year appears on the cover as part of a circle encompassing the volume and issue number.
• Volume 2, Number 2 is the only one with a copyright year in the small print. It indicates 1994 despite the cover reflecting 1995. As it is the second issue of the volume there's the question of whether this is a misprint or the front year indicator is staggered. This is what makes assigning months difficult.
• I have no idea when the magazine ceased printing as simple web searches rarely dredge this magazine up.
• It is a slick publication on heavy stock with a lot of original artwork. There is very little advertising. Each issue has different dimensions, close to each other, but obviously different. Two of the four I have would not fit in my 11x17 scanner flatbed without extending slightly outside horizontally once unbound.

Here are the four I have on hand:

Volume 1, Number 3

Volume 1, Number 4

Volume 1, Number 5

Volume 2, Number 2

This one's gonna be tough to archive given the number of fold-outs present in each issue.

Chris

I have added to two of the threads in the Database forum and created a new topic for Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games.

I have an issue of Flux in hand and three of the way including Issue 1 which has a very different cover than the database.

Time to get back to re-scanning Electronic Games, hope to have it ready tomorrow night.

The Wikipedia entry for this says it's a UK magazine but as usual that's not the whole story:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Games_Magazine

There is indeed a sister magazine in the UK, and it may have even come first, but the subscription information suggests they were editorially-independent as you can get a US subscription to the UK version or the US version, and the only address provided was in the US. From what I have been able to piece together is that it launched in the US in December 1990. I determined this working from the issues I've been able to acquire. As I was curious about the evolving name I grabbed some issues off eBay regardless of quality. The following are the usual quick scan covers:

Issue 44, July 1994

Issue 106, September 1999

Issue 112, March 2000 (now Computer Games Magazine)

Issue 135, February 2002 (now Computer Games)

Issue 150, May 2003

Issue 151, June 2003

Given the first issue I got the magazine was nowhere near the level of CGW or PC Gamer. That issue was staple-bound whereas the others were thick, perfect-bound and full of ads. Somehow they soldiered on, I don't know when they ceased publishing.

Howdy!

I believe these are the only two issues of this magazine, a side project of long-running Creative Computing magazine. In the credits it's mentioned that it would be published three times a year making my guess of the month of the block tougher since they forgot to include a season lol

Issue 1, Spring 1983

Issue 2, Fall 1983

These are just quick scans for database discussion. Both issues are square bound, rare for this era, and I haven't debound them yet. Both issues are 132 pages. The copies I acquired seem to be in very good shape with bound inserts.

Chris